Is It, Or Is It Not?
by Sam Storsky
Summary: "Love is like quicksand: The deeper you fall in it, the harder it is to get out."


Is it, or is it Not?

It was a nice, fine morning. Such a nice, fine morning. It was like any other spring day. The birds were chirping their usual unique song. The wind was blowing slightly, causing the leaves to rustle in a peaceful way. The sky was a charming shade of blue and perfect, white, fluffy clouds were overhead. The temperature was great; Just the right amount of humidity in the air and the sun wasn't shining TOO brightly. Nearly everyone was happy and peaceful. Teachers weren't assigning much homework, kids were playing outside, and it seemed all was well.

Except for one: Rose Weasley.

Rose Weasley right now was confused more than anything. She was sitting in the court yard, absolutely still, her blue eyes hardly even blinking. Her auburn curls were flying slowly behind her shoulders, and her hands were locked in place on her lab. Her mouth was set in a straight line, and her eyebrows were furrowed. Anyone that knew her could safely say Rose Weasley was confused.

Her confusion was because of a certain Malfoy. She and Scorpius Malfoy recently became friends. It was hard to believe that they were in the same castle for almost six years, and never made a single effort to talk to the other until about two months ago. They weren't very close just yet, but in this friendship, Rose was very afraid of one thing: that she'd start to like him as more than a friend. Just yesterday, she convinced herself that she didn't like him like that. But what she saw today, and her own reaction to it, made her question herself.

_It was the last class of the day, Charms. Rose was just leaving, and Scorpius was in front of her. He was talking to a girl, Jess, who she didn't know well. They were walking ridiculously slowly, and she was about to pass them when she noticed their entwined hands. Her stomach dropped. Then, Scorpius leaned over and kissed Jess on the cheek. It made Rose stop in her tracks out of pure surprise._

She had thought Scorpius liked Jess, but she dismissed it as an illegitimate hunch. These two didn't have any classes together, weren't in the same house, and they were complete opposites. She never thought she would return his feelings! Jess was the opposite of Scorpius, who was sarcastic, could be pretty nasty to people, and rather talkative. Jess was nice, sweet, and fairly quiet. Her previous boyfriends, Rose knew, were nice, sweet, and quiet, too. Nothing like Scorpius.

But this all surprised Rose. Why did she care? She didn't care when she thought he liked Jess! Why now? And why did she feel so sad when she saw them together a few more times that hour? Why did she feel her heart breaking, just the slightest? She had so many questions, and not one answer.

_Some of Jess's friends were also her friends. She talked to them and they gave her pretty shocking news. Scorpius had been seeing Jess for nearly 5 days, but they decided to keep it secret, until today. They also told her something that - guiltily - made her spirits rise: They didn't think she actually liked him. Apparently, they were friends first (a fact Rose was fully aware of) but then Scorpius wanted to be more that, and they thought she agreed, just to be nice. They thought she didn't want to hurt his feelings. And a small part of Rose wished it was true._

"Hi." He said, sitting down next to her. Rose was a good actress, and times like these, she was happy she was.

"Hi, Scorpius." She said, automatically brightening up, and giving him a big smile.

"Nice day, isn't it?" He asked, looking around.

"Definitely." She agreed. "How're things with you and Jess?" Rose asked, raising her eyebrow and smirking. Scorpius rolled his eyes.

"It's like the talk of the school. I don't get why it's such a big deal!" He said. Rose inwardly rolled her eyes. _Uh, maybe because no one predicted this, at all? Jess, quiet, and sweet, and you, obnoxiously loud?_ She thought to herself.

"It'll pass." She assured him.

"Oh, Rose, what was the spell to conjure flowers?" He asked. "I completely forgot."

"It's _Orchideous_." She told him. _Since when had he become such a romantic?_ She asked herself.

"Thanks." He smiled, getting up. Rose was just a little disappointed that he was leaving. He crossed the courtyard and sat where Holly was. Holly and Jake recently got together, too, around the same time as Jess and Scorpius. They were supposed to go on a double date this Hogsmeade weekend. Immediately they started talking about their relationships, and Rose felt a little jealousy. Not because Scorpius was talking to Holly, but because of how easily they talked to each other. Why couldn't she talk to Scorpius as easily?

She was making herself angry, and she couldn't watch any more. She got up, and walked off, trying to forget about her possible feelings for her new friend. This was, of course, short-lived, since she saw Jess. Rose smiled widely at her, and Jess gave her a shy smile back.

Jess was really nice. She was a pretty brunette, about Scorpius' height, so a little bit taller than Rose. She was also smart and enjoyed reading books, and that was how they met. Rose spotted Jess reading her favorite book in the library. They had a fairly short conversation and Rose picked up a little about Jess that day: She laughed a lot, laughed more than talked, and when she talked, she usually said something intelligent.

Only the next day, Rose started to notice differences in Scorpius. He and Jess were almost always together. He seemed to be nicer to everyone. And, he was such a romantic that it even surprised his closest friends. Everyone was happy to see them together and often spied on them whenever they were together. Rose walked around, not as delighted to see them together. Her smile always dropped when she saw them.

Why is it that she didn't care unless she saw them together? Why were her feelings for Scorpius _so_ complicated? Why did she feel as though something had been taken out of her?

She found herself sitting next to Scorpius with a few of their friends later that day.

"I knew you liked her," Rose smiled. He looked confused. "It's always much easier to tell when a guy likes a girl, than when a girl likes a guy."

"So true." Holly agreed.

"Did you guys snog yet?" Beth asked eagerly. Everyone else laughed, while Scorpius rolled his eyes.

"Beth!" Rose screeched, while still laughing.

"You don't _ask_ these things!" Holly laughed. Jayson rolled his eyes.

"That's just Beth." He told us. Rose sneaked a glance at Scorpius. His dark eyes were amused, and he had a small smile on his face. His scent was intoxicating, and she couldn't help but inhale a few times. _Stop it, Rose_, she chided herself, _he has a girlfriend. You really shouldn't be feeling this way about someone who's already taken_.

But that didn't stop her from feeling sad whenever she saw them together. It didn't stop her from being confused.

It was almost two days later. Holly had told her. Jess and Scorpius broke up. It was a mutual break up. Rose couldn't help but be happy. It didn't stop her from smiling widely. Of course, she had a long conversation with Holly about how they broke up, but she was smiling on the inside the entire time.

Later that night, when she was lying down on her bed, she was just as confused as ever, if not, _more_ confused. Why was she feeling these things? Why was she happy that they broke up? Why couldn't she feel indifferent about it, just as Holly had? Or maybe surprised, like the rest of the school? Why was she _happy_?

She sighed to herself. Why was this so confusing?

_This is what love is. Confusing._She thought to herself. Her eyes shot open.

_Wait, love…? What!_


End file.
